I worry about my kids. I want to teach the 7 year old how to ride his bike. But he just has no interest. His friends are all riding their bikes and yet my son just seems to have no interest at all. He'd rather draw or play. Or if we let him, watch TV or play video games.

I'm not sure how much I should be pushing them. I don't want to be an ogre forcing them to go outside and play all the time but at the same time I don't want them just laying around the house on a beautiful warm day.

Brad I had to laugh at this the first tiem I saw the title. Blobby Kids... nice. Well I know youre asking what do you do, maybe its what not to do... I know you dont want them to waste the daylight, but now that I think about it, I was about 7-8 years old when I learn to ride a bike as well, its not because my mom or dad wanted me to, there was just something that sparked in me that made me want to ride. All I can really say is... no worries mate.
As for the whole drawing thing... maybe hes just becoming creative at this point and then later on with just get the nearve to venture outside amungst the allerges. I think of it this way, hes becoming creative, cause in way, look at his father... your pretty damned creative yourself... think about it... all the stuff you created... its just part of you... but dont worrie. Next thing you will know he will be outside and you wont be able to get him inside.

Sometimes you just have to kick them out. I don't like to be a bitch about making my kids go out either, but......sometimes you just have to be the 'mean' parent and make them do it. I'm relatively lucky, my boys like to be outside with their buds most of the time anyway..my daughter, however, is a different matter. I think she has a 'Sims' addiction...that girl would play 24/7 if I let her. So, every so often I have to shove her out the door with her bike helmet in her hand and tell het to go blow her cobwebs away.

I don't have any insight as to why he's not interested in learning to ride his bike. Perhaps it's because he doesn't know how to ride and hasn't experienced the joy of riding unassisted yet?

I'm not sure how much I should be pushing them. I don't want to be an ogre forcing them to go outside and play all the time but at the same time I don't want them just laying around the house on a beautiful warm day.

I was always a "mean mom" when my kids were younger....they HAD to play outside for at least half an hour at a time on nice days...if it was a weekend, or summer vacation, they might get sent out for several different half hour stints. With the girls, who are now 14 and 11, it seemed to take, as they now willingly spend hours at a time outside with friends. With my son, now 18, it didn't....he would rather be holed up in his room, listening to music, playing video games, or reading--the same sort of personality his mother had in jr. high and high school.....

Regardless of whether your son wants to ride a bicycle you must force him to. He will never respect or obey you if you give in Brad. Be a family General and keep your troops in line. Issue your orders and implement a rigid regiment.

This is the eternal question and is something so difficult to judge. I reckon parenting is the most difficult job I have ever done. All I reckon we can really do is to provide the environment for them and encourage them. The hard part is where does encouragement stop and where does the pushing start.
And you reckon you've got problems! My 6 year old son desperately wants a pair of pink tights to wear at home. His favourite colour is pink and he asked someone to give him a picture of a ballerina the other day because he liked it so much......do I say "no thats not manly" or do I let him just let him go...I have no idea. I don't know whether to laugh or be worried....
On the other hand his favourite toy is a transformer (very masculine) and he gets out there and happily plays with the other boys....

I don't think that it is neccessary to force specific activities on kids, but they should be doing something that is physically active.

I think part of being a parent is looking out for the best interest of your children, even when their best interest isn't appealing to them. Most 7 year olds aren't able to fully understand the ramifications of having serious health problems 40 or 50 years down the road because they didn't excercise.

I may not have any kids of my own, but I think most kids are smarter than some parents think they are. Do you truly think that he is missing out on a key part of life by not learning to ride a bike by a certain age or staying inside on a nice day? I'm young enough to know what it was like when my parents didn't trust me and thought I was incapable of learning anything by myself. Fortunately, my parents were pretty lenient and they trusted me more than most of the other parents. The reason I became an obidient child was not because they played the "mean parent" or because they shoved activities down my throat; they gained my trust by showing me that they loved me and that I could ask them anything. I knew that if I got in trouble, I could tell them about it and they wouldn't whip me with a belt. In conclusion, I think you should show him new activities and point him in the direction of learning, but don't force anything... he will just resent it later.

Make him go outside and play. He might do some token whining but then he'll have fun and forget that he didn't want to come out.

...know what I did when my folks made me go outside? I went out and SAT on the porch for hours at a time, just daydreaming.....I've never been an athletic, game playing kind of person. So I tend to believe in letting my children find the activities that they prefer for their entertainment/amusement....within limits, of course.

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